Pitt has made progress under Capel
Panthers won six more games than in 2017-18
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The end of a college basketball season is, by design, abrupt. A buzzer sounds, play stops and in an instant, a team that spent the better part of the past year working toward a common mission is forced to abandon it temporarily or, in the case of seniors, for good.
There’s an undeniable cruelty to it.
Jeff Capel experienced that potent cocktail of emotions late Wednesday night not even 15 minutes after his first season as Pitt’s coach ended with a 14point loss to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC tournament. With finality came some sadness, as is often the case, but in the situation in which Capel found himself, it also brought optimism.
“Our season ended today, but I will remember this group for the group that gave this program hope again,” Capel said.
It wasn’t a moment of rushed reflection, something he panicked to think up in the minutes between walking off the court and sitting down for his postgame news conference. He had seen more than enough over the previous four months, perhaps even going back further, to feel that way.
Pitt’s 2018-19 season was unquestionably one of progress. The Panthers won six more games than they did the previous season, nearly doubling their win total, and won four more games in ACC play, with a group of young, exciting players helping to lead the charge. A program mired in what was often described as a toxic situation when Capel took over 351 days earlier is in a better, more hopeful position.
With improvement came frustration. Exactly two months before Pitt finished its season 14-19, it was 12-5, having just put together its most impressive win of the season, a double-digit triumph against a top-15 Florida State team. In that moment, it was easy to believe that the Panthers might be an exception to the decades of rebuilding projects that took years to turn a dismal product into a respectable one, that they might defy all expectations and, once a frontloaded conference schedule was behind it, win 20 games and put itself into postseason consideration.
Those hopes were quickly dashed, as a 13-game losing streak turned Pitt into something more closely resembling what many expected it to be and perhaps what it ultimately was. That elongated stumble, falling apart after providing a glimpse of how good it could be, left the team’s first 17 games as a vicious tease. The fact there was frustration, though, is indicative of improvement. The Panthers were good enough to earn a sense of belief, even if it eventually dwindled loss after loss.
It was a fundamentally flawed team, with no productive big men and only one strong outside shooter, but it was a group that made do with what it had and, by doing so, escaped the conference basement in which it was predicted to remain.
Much of that enthusiasm came from a trio of freshmen who improved the team in the short term and gave a clue of what they could one day provide in the long term.
Xavier Johnson was a revelation, leading the team in scoring and assists while providing an offensive spark off the dribble that Pitt hasn’t had in some time. He was rewarded by the end of the season with ACC allfreshman honors, the only player not from Duke or North Carolina to receive that recognition. Ideally, he could be to Capel what Brandin Knight was to Ben Howland nearly 20 years ago — a transformational point guard who dramatically changed the trajectory of a languishing program.
Trey McGowens showed in spurts why he was Pitt’s highestrated recruit in six years, showcasing athleticism and explosiveness that could shape him into a star. It’s no coincidence at all that the Panthers were at their best when he was at his, as he averaged 26.3 points per game in their four ACC wins. Together, he and Johnson now account for two of the five highest-scoring seasons by a freshman in program history.
Au’Diese Toney, another top150 recruit, proved himself to be a tireless presence on the court and the team’s best rebounder, someone who excelled in many areas that don’t show up in a box score.
With those three, the first step in Capel’s rebuilding efforts has been validated. In a six-week stretch last spring, he brought aboard three players who, at the very least, are rotation pieces on an ACC contender.
“We know how the league is played,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s loss. “Our sophomore year, we’re going to kill. We’re going to come out as killers and we’re going to be successful.”
Capel’s hand was visible in the team’s improvement. There was an infusion of energy, as the players on the court and the team’s bench seemed much more engaged, even as the losses piled up. The Panthers drew more offensive fouls last season than they did in their previous three combined, a deft equalizer for a team still lacking in talent relative to their conference peers. While watching a game it was often clear, with the exception of departing senior Jared Wilson-Frame, which players Capel brought in and which ones he inherited.
The program’s ascent, however, can’t just be assumed. Wilson-Frame will be a much bigger loss than originally anticipated, as Pitt will be down its best shooter and a veteran leader. Its promising young pieces will have to smooth over some of their most notable flaws in the offseason, from Johnson’s occasional carelessness to McGowens’ game-to-game consistency to Toney’s shooting.
Wherever the Panthers go from here will be determined in large part by how well Capel recruits, which isn’t an uncomfortable variable considering his track record in that area. Though it’s unclear who from the current team may transfer, if anyone, Pitt has three recruits, two of them top-120 prospects, committed for next season and will undoubtedly look to the graduate transfer and junior college markets for reinforcements. It needs not only talent, but players who fill specific and glaring needs, namely a reliable big man. Work has been done in replenishing a roster that, prior to his arrival, was arguably the worst in major-college basketball, but much more still remains.
If Capel is able to do that, his first team will be remembered just as he hoped it would be — the one that helped a onceproud program begin its path back to prominence.